7 Ways to Make Your Startup Stand Out

2016 is part of the booming startup generation. It seems like there's a millennial with a revolutionary business plan and entrepreneurial dreams around every corner, and nowadays it doesn't take much to launch your own startup. In fact, just about anyone with an Internet connection can do it. The real challenge lies in making a startup stand out among the masses. Below are seven ways that you can make your startup noticeable right from the start.

Set Up Social Media Accounts
Social media profiles are essential to digital marketing, and if you aren't going to advertise your new business online, you can pretty much kiss it goodbye. Today, the Internet is the number one place to promote yourself, your company and connect with potential sponsors as well as attract prospective customers.

Make sure that your social media accounts all bear the same name (your startup's, preferably) and are linked to one another. Doing this early on can also create a sense of accountability that motivates you to keep moving forward.

Get a Logo
You'll want both a logo and emblem that you can place on newsletters, set as social media icons, on custom work wear and your website. Having one drafted up and designed sooner rather than later will create a sense of legitimacy that customers and sponsors will love, and a professionally designed logo will certainly be worth the investment when you're presenting your brand to the public alongside novices.

Generate Content
Although there are some pretty epic ways to design a coming soon page for your website, you'll want to begin queuing up actual content to post ASAP. Not only will SEO content writing help your blog rank higher in search engines, thus pulling in more viewers naturally, but it will also make you appear put together and organized.

Develop a Marketing Plan
It doesn't matter whether the products you plan to sell are a few months shy of production. Creating a marketing plan now will help you get a better understanding of your current situation as well as clarify future objectives. Having this plan in place will help guide your startup's development as you advance.

Offer Something
So many startups are all about gaining attention, but what you really want to focus on at this point is gaining consumers' trust and loyalty. A customer-centric marketing strategy is worth the money if your budget allows, because once you've demonstrated what you can offer to people who want it the most, they'll be more likely to return in the future and you won't have to work as hard to make a sale.

Have a Company Mission Statement
Let investors, sponsors, advertisers and anyone else you want involved with your startup know who you are, what you do, why you do it and your company's objective. Nothing is more off-putting than a startup owner who can't even define their own brand easily.

Ask for Help
It's tempting to want to do everything on your own and raise your business from the ground up, but it's also pretty difficult and seeking out help from any resources you know you can is a smart move. Knowing when - and how - to properly reach out also illustrates that you've got a solid grasp of your business strengths and weaknesses.

Create Achievable Goals
Many tech startups dream to "become the next Apple", but chances are that won't happen for quite some time. To place such a lofty ambition on the shoulders of startup, as well as its small staff, is a recipe for disaster. Instead, keep the dream that inspired you to start your business in the back of your mind as a motivational tool while you work toward smaller, more easily achievable goals.

Recap
Developing a startup is relatively easy in today's digital world, but making it stand out is another thing entirely. The primary objectives for a startup business pre-launch and immediately afterwards should be establishing a brand identity and online presence, crafting a solid company mission statement, and working hard to secure customer loyalty. Getting a logo designed, having work uniforms and creating your company's social media profiles are also fantastic motivational tools that can keep you and your team psyched as you push forward.